Covid-like restrictions should be used against the violent disorder currently taking place around the country, Government adviser on political violence John Woodcock argued this weekend. In UnHerd, Professor David Paton says we saw this coming. Here’s an excerpt.
When the last Government enacted draconian restrictions on the right to assembly and protest on the pretext of limiting the spread of COVID-19, there were warnings about the precedent this could set. Namely, that basic civil rights could be put aside by politicians with little scrutiny or serious challenge.
Those concerns are beginning to seem prophetic. John Woodcock, ex-Labour MP and Government advisor on political violence, argued this weekend that reinstating Covid-like restrictions would be the right response to the violent disorder taking place around the country following the dreadful events in Southport last week. At the same time, Keir Starmer has signalled moves that include more Government control of online information and the expansion of state surveillance through facial recognition.
Civil rights groups such as Big Brother Watch have expressed concern about the implications of such proposals for civil rights. But there is an even more fundamental principle that has been under attack for some time which has received much less attention: those who make our laws should not decide which of those laws we are allowed to protest against.
Violence during public protests, especially against the police, is inexcusable, and the targeting by rioters of migrant hotels this weekend is deeply troubling. But the suggestion in some quarters that the main problem is violence from far-Right protesters is wide of the mark. In recent years, we have seen violent protests by extremists from across the political spectrum including groups linked to the far-Left, Islam, anti-racism, Just Stop Oil and the transgender movement.
Yet despite systematic aggression and violence from all these factions, the one group politicians have decided to ban is anti-abortion activists outside clinics. Such protests in the U.K. have been entirely peaceful, largely consisting of Christians praying quietly and offering non-judgemental support to pregnant women: no threats to the police and no violent disorder.
As with lockdown protests, we mustn’t let the Government decide what we can and cannot protest about, says Prof Paton. It’s a slippery slope to a very dangerous place.
Worth reading in full.
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